After getting through a challenging three-game stretch that featured two true road games unscathed, Ohio State opened a five-game home stand with a resounding victory.
The Buckeye basketball team steamrolled South Carolina State on Sunday at the Schottenstein Center to move to 4-0 on the season with a 89-61 victory. Ohio State was led by sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson, who poured in 18 points in the win.
Ohio State opened slowly, leading just 8-6 at the first media timeout with three turnovers. From there however, the Buckeyes went on a 16-2 run as the Bulldogs never got closer than 14 in the first half. The spurt was capped by a pair of free throws from freshman Jaedon LeDee with 10:12 to play in the first half.
The Buckeyes carried a 43-21 lead heading into halftime and never looked back as Chris Holtmann was able to empty his entire bench in the second half, including Joey Lane and Danny Hummer who played the final four minutes of the win.
While Kaleb Wesson led all scorers, plenty of other Buckeyes got involved in the offense. Andre Wesson scored a season-high 11, Luther Muhammad added 12 and Duane Washington chipped in 14. LeDee finished with 12, going 6-of-8 from the free throw line. After leading Ohio State with 19 in a win over Creighton, graduate senior guard Keyshawn Woods was held scoreless on just two shot attempts but did contribute four assists.
South Carolina State was led in scoring by Damni Applewhite, who finished with 15 points in the loss.
Ohio State is set to return to action Tuesday night at home against Samford with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. After taking on Samford, the Buckeyes are set to host Cleveland State at St. John Arena on Friday. It will be the first time the Buckeyes have played at St. John Arena since Dec. 2010, when Ohio State defeated Western Carolina, 85-60.
